Новости за 14.08.2023

Britain's government Monday rejected claims that it was slow to evacuate asylum-seekers from a barge moored off the south coast of England once traces of the bacteria that causes Legionnaire's disease were found in the ship's water system. In the latest critique of the government's ballyhooed efforts to control migration and reduce the cost of housing a rising number of asylum-seekers, local health officials said over the weekend that the barge operator was told about the bacteria last Monday ... Читать дальше...

Attorneys for Hunter Biden are pushing to keep part of a plea deal they reached with the prosecutor whose new status as special counsel intensified the tax investigation into the president's son ahead of the 2024 election. Biden's attorney argued in court documents late Sunday that an agreement sparing him prosecution on a felony gun charge still is in place even though the plea agreement on misdemeanor tax offenses largely unraveled during a court appearance last month. His lawyer argues the... Читать дальше...

In a rare televised speech Monday, the head of Sudan's military accused the rival paramilitary force of committing war crimes as all-out civil war threatens to engulf the northeast African country. Sudan was plunged into chaos in April when months of simmering tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere. In a speech broadcast on Sudan TV, Burhan accused... Читать дальше...

For the team aboard the Okeanos Explorer off the coast of Alaska, exploring the mounds and craters of the sea floor along the Aleutian Islands is a chance to surface new knowledge about life in some of the world's deepest and most remote waters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel is on a five-month mission aboard a reconfigured former Navy vessel run by civilians and members of the NOAA Corps. The ship, with a 48-member crew, is outfitted with technology and tools... Читать дальше...

Young environmental activists scored what experts described as a ground-breaking legal victory on Monday when a Montana judge said state agencies were violating their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by allowing fossil fuel development. The ruling in this first-of-its-kind trial in the U.S. adds to a small number of legal decisions around the world that have established a government duty to protect citizens from climate change. If it stands, the ruling could set an important legal precedent... Читать дальше...

Multiple Cambodian tycoons are under fire for alleged fraudulent real estate sales to thousands of people who are struggling to pay back loans from microfinance institutions and banks used to invest in land or gated community projects.  In the most prominent cases, two “oknhas” — tycoons who have given at least $500,000 to the government — have been arrested and charged with fraud in separate schemes after families in multiple provinces accused them of reneging on promised monthly dividends from... Читать дальше...

Authorities on the Greek island of Crete have ordered the temporary closure of mountain gorges popular with hikers after an earthquake triggered a rockslide and seriously injured a Spanish tourist. The closure of the Samaria Gorge in southwest Crete — along with several others in the White Mountain range — was ordered Monday, a day after the region was rattled by a magnitude 4.9 quake. The temblor triggered the evacuation of more than 600 people Sunday along the 16-kilometer (10-mile) Samaria hiking trail. Читать дальше...

The U.S. military has confirmed that four Russian military aircraft were tracked operating near the U.S. state of Alaska late Sunday and early Monday. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said that it had “detected and tracked” the aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). “The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is... Читать дальше...

Two-thirds of Americans say their country feels more divided than usual. Voting results show differences are especially pronounced between people living in rural areas and those in urban or suburban areas. In the Pacific Northwest, some rural voters are pushing to leave their state. For VOA, Deborah Bloom reports on the Greater Idaho movement. Produced by: Jason Godman

In U.S. collegiate sports, schools sometimes give full scholarships to students who commit to a team, including international ones. Some sports are dominated by international students, such as women’s tennis: 66% of top-tier Division I players are not from the U.S. However, there is mounting domestic pressure for schools to focus on financial need, and not athletic ability, and scholarships are often swallowed up by the high tuition and cost of living in the U.S. Sophie Hogan of The PIE News has more. Читать дальше...

The word "manga" is used to describe a wide variety of comic books and graphic novels originally produced in Japan. It has long been associated with Asian culture. But new generations of Asian Americans are identifying more with American comic books. Genia Dulot has the report. (Camera: Genia Dulot)

Health workers say at least 26 civilians were killed in a drone strike in a town in Ethiopia’s Amhara region. Federal government forces and a regional militia that fought on the same side during the recent war in the Tigray region have been fighting each other for the past four months. The attack Sunday took place in the central town of Finote Selam, in the West Gojam Zone of Ethiopia’s Amhara region. A doctor at Finote Selam Hospital who spoke on the condition of anonymity said injured people started arriving around midday. Читать дальше...

More than 30 news outlets and press freedom organizations have condemned a police raid on a Kansas newspaper. A joint letter released Sunday said there appeared to be “no justification” for such an intrusive search at a U.S. media outlet. Police in Marion County Friday seized devices and other material during a raid at the Marion County Record newspaper office and searched the home of the paper’s publisher. In a report published by the Marion County Record, the newspaper said police seized computers... Читать дальше...

Officials in India said Monday that heavy rains in the Himalayas have killed at least 22 people over the past two days.  The torrential rains have triggered landslides that have flattened buildings in Himachal Pradesh state, including a temple thronged with worshipers. School has been canceled in many locations. Some residents have been evacuated to shelters.  "Again, tragedy has befallen Himachal Pradesh, with continuous rainfall over the past 48 hours," Sukhvinder Singh, the state's chief minister... Читать дальше...

Anwaarul Haq Kakar is Pakistan’s new caretaker prime minister.   He was sworn in Monday by President Arif Alvi in Islamabad in a ceremony at the presidential palace, attended by outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.   Sharif and opposition leader Raja Riaz Ahmad agreed on Alvi’s installment after talks Saturday.   Kakar’s resignation from the Senate was accepted Monday, ahead of his swearing-in.  The interim prime minister is a 52-year-old ethnic Pashtun from Balochistan. He is a member of the Balochistan Awami Party. Читать дальше...

Polish authorities arrested two Russians and charged them with espionage for allegedly distributing propaganda material on behalf of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group. Poland's Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said Monday on social media that the country’s internal security service and police arrested the Russians, and that the accused had distributed the materials in the cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Polish authorities said the Russians distributed about 300 leaflets with links to Wagner recruitment... Читать дальше...

Authorities in the U.S. state of Hawaii say the number of confirmed dead from a wildfire on the island of Maui reached 96. Maui County said late Sunday multiple fire crews are working to address any remaining flare-ups in the fire that began August 8. The fire, which devastated the Lahaina area, was estimated to have burned more than 850 hectares. Hawaii Governor Josh Green said the death toll was expected the rise as search crews, including a federal urban search and rescue team, reached more parts of the community. Читать дальше...

Australia's biggest warship heads to the Philippines Monday where tensions with Beijing have escalated in recent days over disputed waters in the South China Sea. HMAS Canberra will take part in joint military exercises with U.S. forces and the Philippines.         The South China Sea is one of the world's most important waterways.  It links the Indian Ocean to the Pacific and is a critical shipping channel with rich fishing grounds.  It could also harbor valuable deposits of natural resources. Читать дальше...

Taiwan Vice President William Lai says the self-ruled island will not be intimidated by threats from mainland China. Lai made the comments at a luncheon Sunday in New York City, a day after arriving on a stopover on his way to Paraguay to attend the inauguration of the South American country’s new president. He told supporters that "once again at this time and place, that no matter how great the threat of authoritarianism is to Taiwan, we absolutely will not be scared nor cower, we will uphold the values of democracy and freedom." Lai... Читать дальше...

All 105 soccer fans suspected of being involved in extensive clashes in the Greek capital that ended in the death of a 29-year-old AEK Athens supporter have been ordered to be detained pending their trial, authorities said Sunday. Three examining magistrates and two prosecutors questioned the detained fans in batches — 30 on Friday, 40 on Saturday and 35 on Sunday — and decided each day whether to detain them pending trial. One suspect, who is hospitalized under guard, gave a deposition to a visiting magistrate. Читать дальше...

Parishioners mourned the dead and prayed for the missing Sunday in Hawaii churches as communities began looking ahead to a long recovery from last week's wildfire that demolished a historic Maui town and killed more than 90 people. Maria Lanakila Church in Lahaina was spared from the flames that wiped out most of the surrounding community, but with search-and-recovery efforts ongoing, its members attended Mass about 10 miles up the road, with the Bishop of Honolulu, the Rev. Clarence "Larry" Silva, presiding. Читать дальше...

An American nurse who was released by kidnappers in Haiti last week says a Christian song called “See a Victory” became her battle cry after she and her young daughter were abducted. Alix Dorsainvil and her child were freed Wednesday, nearly two weeks after they were snatched at gunpoint from the campus of a Christian-run school near Port-au-Prince. El Roi Haiti, the Christian aid organization founded by Dorsainvil’s husband, said Thursday the pair were not harmed and are healthy. On Saturday... Читать дальше...

The number of migrants dying in the Mediterranean is an "open wound" for humanity, Pope Francis said Sunday after a week marked by a string of deadly shipwrecks. At his weekly Angelus prayer, the 86-year-old pontiff offered his prayers for the 41 people reported missing Wednesday by four survivors brought to safety on the Italian island of Lampedusa. He recalled "with pain and shame" U.N. figures showing more than 2,000 migrants have lost their lives in the Mediterranean Sea since the start of the year. Читать дальше...